London’s air is so polluted that motorists should be given up to £3,500 to persuade them to get rid of their old diesel vehicles and replace them with more environmentally friendly vehicles, according to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
The nitrogen dioxide that is emitted by diesel cars is a key contributor to London’s poor air quality, which is so bad that City Hall now advises the public to avoid leaving the house unnecessarily on the worst-affected days.
The Mayor of London is urging the government to introduce a scrappage scheme, costing around half a billion pounds, that would offer incentives to low-income households and businesses to scrap their older vehicles.
Kahn would also like to see the car tax redesigned so that it no longer gives drivers an incentive to choose a diesel car. “The toxic state of our air leaves us with no choice but to rid our city of the most polluting diesel vehicles. It is shocking that nearly half of new car sales in the UK are still diesel vehicles and the national system of vehicle excise duty still incentivises motorists to buy these polluting cars,” Khan said.
“I’m urging the government to immediately review this policy, and today I’ve delivered a detailed report on how it can deliver an effective national diesel scrappage fund. One that both fairly compensates motorists and rapidly helps clean up our filthy air.
Air pollution is thought to cause around 50,000 early deaths every year while costing £27.5bn to try and maintain. Last April it was called a ‘public health emergency’ by MPs.
Under the mayor’s proposed scheme, van drivers in London would be given up to £3,500 towards the cost of a cleaner model, and low-income households could receive a credit worth £2,000 that they could use on alternative transport, such as joining a car pool, or on a new vehicle.
Swannells – Warehousing Huntingdon
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